Patiala, June 28 : For years, villagers have battled the relentless depletion of groundwater, the escalating costs of maintaining tubewells and the harsh realities of a receding water table. While in Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib districts, canal water irrigation has resumed after 40 years, it has arrived for the first time at a village of Amargarh town in Malerkotla.
Manjeet Singh, a 35-year-old resident of Ghujerheri village, is excitedly walking in the drain full of water, irrigating his 12 acres.
“Since my childhood, we have been irrigating the fields through tubewells. Over the years, the water started depleting. The officials, especially Ziledar of the Irrigation Department Tejpal Singh, were quick to help. With their support, we cleared the encroached land and carved out a drain. Previously, nearly 50 tubewells irrigated over 200 acres, but now, we use canal water,” said Manjeet Singh.
As per the official record, currently there are 13.94 lakh tubewells across the state pumping out gallons of water during the paddy transplanting season. However, things have changed for the better in the villages of Gowara and Raipur, where underground pipes have replaced around 350 tubewells.
Gurjit Singh, a 52-year-old resident of Gowara, shared the collective relief of his village. “After over 40 years, canal water has reached us again. It had become an annual ordeal to dig borewells during the paddy season, costing us around Rs 10,000 each time. Approaching the government for help was a long and tedious process, but with the support of the Irrigation Department and the tubewell corporation, we laid a web of underground pipes across the village at an expenditure of over Rs 2 crore borne by the government. Nearly 800 acres are now irrigated and we’ve amicably decided the schedule for watering our fields,” said Gurjit Singh.
In Amloh’s Mallowal village, a 5-km stretch of canal water outlet had been blocked by encroachments for 40 years. With government intervention, the path was cleared and canal water now irrigates at least 300 acres in Bharpoorgarh and Mallowal villages.
Karan Gupta, a Patwari who has been instrumental in motivating the villagers, said, “Earlier, 20 tubewells used to pump out water. Now, canal water is sufficient to irrigate the fields.”
Gurjit Singh, a 52-year-old resident of Gowara, shared the collective relief of his village. “After over 40 years, canal water has reached us again. It had become an annual ordeal to dig borewells during the paddy season, costing us around Rs 10,000 each time. Approaching the government for help was a long and tedious process, but with the support of the Irrigation Department and the tubewell corporation, we laid a web of underground pipes across the village at an expenditure of over Rs 2 crore borne by the government. Nearly 800 acres are now irrigated and we’ve amicably decided the schedule for watering our fields,” said Gurjit Singh.
In Amloh’s Mallowal village, a 5-km stretch of canal water outlet had been blocked by encroachments for 40 years. With government intervention, the path was cleared and canal water now irrigates at least 300 acres in Bharpoorgarh and Mallowal villages.
Karan Gupta, a Patwari who has been instrumental in motivating the villagers, said, “Earlier, 20 tubewells used to pump out water. Now, canal water is sufficient to irrigate the fields.”